Tara Strikes Back
by Zaratan
Summary: Tara finds a very unpleasant surprise during a simple visit, and is forced to confront her fears! Takes place during Redemption, shortly after chapter 10.


I don't own anything, Disney does! Well folks, I have severe writer's block, and have been working on several things at once, but nothing seems to flow right now. Not even a combination of drinking pop while reading "Don't Touch My Monkey" helped. So I thought I would use an earlier suggestion, and hopefully this will break the block. Takes place during the events of Redemption. Other than the first few paragraphs though, you don't really need to know what's going on, as this will be fairly stand-alone. One-shot!

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Tara Strikes Back

Tara was walking home from school, greatly concerned for her friends. The whole thing with Monkey Fist was getting out of hand. Ron hadn't been in school much the last little while, and neither had Bonnie, just stopping in briefly to let her know what was going on before heading back to Go City for the funeral. That had been a couple days ago, and she hadn't heard anything since then. She figured something heavy must have been happening, if Bonnie hadn't contacted her, so she figured a quick stop at Ron's, since it was on the way, would be a good idea, to see if his parents had gotten any kind of update.

Josh had wanted to come with her, get some kind of update as well as make sure she was all right, but it was out of his way, and she told him she would call him when she got home. She had already told Felix and Monique the same thing.

She walked up the path to Ron's front step but paused at a sight that greatly concerned her. The front door was ajar, and flashbacks of those many months ago came back to her, when she had found Bonnie's door the same way, after Monkey Fist had captured her. With that in the back of her mind, she decided to play it smart.

Creeping around the house, she checked through the windows carefully. Nothing showed in the kitchen or den, but when she peeked into the living room, her fear level jumped several notches. Bound and gagged, Ron's parents were seated on the couch, unable to move. Standing before them stood the man who haunted her dreams on occasion. She could see his red eyes, almost glowing in the pale light in the room, the shock of black hair atop his head looking wild, the green scales he sported dripping just a little ooze onto the carpet. It was Gill, the one who had scared her and hurt her, twice now, at Camp Wannaweep. She could see his teeth showing, as he smiled evilly down at Ron's parents. Before he could see her, she ducked down, crouching in the bushes. Listening closely, she could just make out what he was saying.

"I must say, you have been most gracious hosts, but I want to know when Ronnie is getting back. I'm getting tired of waiting for him, and that is definitely something you don't want to happen!"

She heard quiet gagging, followed by a man's voice. "I've already told you, I'm not telling you where our son is!"

The laughter that followed caused her to shiver. "Well then, I guess we'll have to do this the hard way!"

_Oh God, what do I do now? That freak has Ron's parents, and I have no idea where Ron and Bonnie are. I can call the police, but it will take them too long. I have to do something!_

She picked up a garden stone, hefted it briefly in her hand, and threw it at the window. She ran as glass starting to shower down, though there wasn't too much. Running around the house, she dialed 911 on her cell phone, and called for help.

"911, how may I help you?"

She quickly gave the person on the phone a quick run down before hanging up, finally reaching her goal. The garage. She lifted the door briefly, ducked in, and closed it again. She could hear just a little bit of what was going on outside, and could just make out the sound a footsteps walking nearby. Tara held her breath, hoping that Gill hadn't heard her. The footsteps paused, holding for a second, before the sound of footsteps began retreating. Breathing a sigh of relief, Tara began looking for something that could help her. There wasn't much, it looked like the place had been vacuumed clean or something, but then something in the back corner caught her eye; golf clubs. She grabbed the heaviest two she could find, testing their balance, before she turned back to the door.

Lifting it slightly, she peeked out, trying to find any evidence of the mutant, before opening it enough to slip out. Working her way around the house, she peeked back into the living room window and saw Gill yelling at Ron's parents. She had to move quickly.

The back door seemed the best bet, Gill's back would be to her when she came in. Slipping the door open as quietly as she could, she inched through the kitchen, until she could peek around the corner. Gill was still there, his back turned to her. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she charged!

The first club caught him square in the back, the club bending to match where she had struck. The second caught him in the back of the head, driving him to the floor. Shaking, she watched him for a moment, clubs ready, waiting for any movement on his part. When he didn't move, she breathed a sigh of relief, and rushed over to Ron's parents, untying Mr. Stoppable first.

"Oh thank you dear! I don't know what we would have done if it wasn't for you."

"I was just walking by, thought I'd check and see if you had any word on Ron. Then I saw Gill there, and no one else was close enough to help, and I just did what I could. Are you all right?"

Mr. Stoppable began untying his wife. "Yes, we're fine. Have you… LOOK OUT!"

Tara ducked instinctively, as a green claw tore through the air over her head. Whirling around, she saw Gill on his feet, blood trickling from the cut on the back of his head, his eyes holding a murderous glare to them.

"YOU! I know you. You're that blond chippie that was always hanging around Stoppable whenever I came to visit. Oh, you are so going to pay!" She watched as his throat flexed, and Tara dove away to the right.

"Mr. Stoppable, get your wife out of here!"

Tara didn't turn to make sure, as she had to focus on the mutant in front of her as he began to fire that mutating goo from his mouth. She did a quick flip over his head before he could get a bead on her, and ran for the stairs, still clutching the golf clubs in her hands. She could hear him coming up the stairs after her as she ducked into the nearest bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Tara was breathing heavy as she tried to think of someway to stop the mutant, but her mind was in a whirl. She could hear him now at the top of the stairs.

"You know, I was going to settle for Ronnie's parents, but I think you, his little girlfriend, might work just as well!"

Tara heard him opening a door quickly, that horrible hacking sound echoing as he spat into the room next to where she hid.

"I had my eye on you, in that short little cheerleading skirt. I might just have to have a little fun with you before Ronnie gets back. Would you like that?"

His footsteps sounded closer, as he made his way to the room where she was hiding. She ducked behind the door, waiting for him, her anger growing with every word that came out of his mouth.

"Of course, considering that you're a cheerleader, you've probably done half the football team, so it wouldn't exactly be uncharted territory. But I could just imagine the look on Ronnie's face when he found out. Would he take you back after you've been with me?"

The door flew open, and Tara watched as his spit hit the window, shattering it. She waited, as she heard him take a step in, and then another. When she could see him, she struck!

She drove the first club into the back of his head again, and the club shattered. "I am not Ron's girlfriend you dumbass, but I am his friend!" The second shattered on his arm as he moved to block, but Tara was beyond caring. "You think I'm scared of you, you overgrown guppy?" She continued beating him with the broken ends of the golf clubs, rage having taken her completely. "You think you can threaten Ron's family, that you can threaten me, and get away with it?" The blood was poring down his face as she continued her assault, never letting up, striking everywhere that he left exposed. "You are nothing! I'm not afraid of you!" She paused, and Gill lifted his blood stained face up, standing shakily on his feet, looking into her eyes. There was no fear there, just hate and anger and determination. He wanted to plead, to beg, but his mouth didn't want to work. He watched as she drew back her leg. "And this is for calling me a slut!" With that, her leg straightened quickly, colliding with the center of his chest, driving him back and out the shattered window.

Tara heard the thump and fell to her knees, her breathing coming in gasps now, as she felt the adrenaline leave her. Tears started to flow, as everything caught up to her at once, and she sat like that until she heard the sirens approaching. Rising unsteadily to her feet, using the wall for support, she made her way down the stairs, where the cops were just coming in.

They saw the tear stained girl, covered in blood, and drew their guns, pointing them at her. Mrs. Stoppable rushed in at that point, telling them to put their weapons down, that she was helping them. To Tara, it sounded so far away. She was so tired, she just wanted to rest, but there were a couple things she had to do first.

"Gill's out in the back yard! I knocked him out a window, I don't know how he is."

Mr. Stoppable rushed up to Tara, taking her in his arms and lifting her to the couch, where she laid her head down.

One of the officers came rushing in. "Tom, she got him all right. He's alive, but he's gonna need to get treatment. She got him good!"

"All right, Greg, get him an ambulance!" He paused, kneeling down beside Tara. "You feel up to talking?"

Mr. Stoppable interrupted. "Is that really necessary right now? She's pretty beat, and she needs to clean up."

"I guess you're right. We can talk to her later. Do you feel up to going home?"

Tara just looked around, still a little stunned. "Yeah, yeah, I should get home. Mom's probably worried about me."

"All right, I'll have Johnson take you home." He helped her to her feet, and led her to one of the squad cars, helping her in. The drive was peaceful, until they got to Tara's house, and she saw her mother rushing out to meet her. She was led into the house as her father and the officer talked, but she didn't hear any of it, she was just so tired. Her mom wiped the blood off of her and helped her change, and she struggled into bed to sleep.

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Tara awoke the next morning, feeling a lot better. She looked around her room, her clothes from yesterday nowhere around her. She felt goose bumps, not sure if it had been real or not, it had been so intense. She still felt a bit shaky as she rose from her bed, and made her way to the bathroom.

She turned on the shower, allowing the water to run over her as she thought about what had happened. She had been so scared, yet excited at the same time. Was this what Kim and Ron and Bonnie felt every time they went on a mission? No wonder Ron seemed so tired all the time, if this is what it felt like. Her body just seemed to collapse when it was over, all the energy draining from her body so quickly like that. She took longer in the shower than normal, letting the water sooth her muscles and nerves, luxuriating in it. When she felt the water starting to cool, she turned it off. She wrapped the towel around herself and made her way back to her room.

When she came downstairs, her mother jumped up from her seat, pulling her into a hug. "Oh, I am so proud of you! Standing up to that awful man…" She looked over her mom's shoulder, and saw her father and Josh sitting there, smiling at her.

When her mother finally let her go, Josh came over to her, pulling her into an embrace. "I'm just glad you're all right! I was worried about you."

Tara just smiled at him. "What are you doing here? Not that I mind, but isn't it a little out of your way?"

Josh just looked down at her. "Well, when you didn't call last night, I decided to come over. Your parents filled me in on everything."

Tara just flushed. "Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't call, I completely forgot!"

"Don't worry about it. We're running a bit late, so your mom packed some breakfast for you to eat on the way!"

Tara said her goodbyes to her family, and the pair began the walk to school. Josh took her hand in his, smiling at her the whole way. "I don't know how you had the guts to do that! I don't know how I would have reacted to something like that happening."

Tara just smiled shyly, as she looked up into his face. "I guess you just never know what you're capable of until you have to deal with it!"

And with that, Tara took the initiative, leaning in to kiss Josh, all thoughts of school and the events of last night completely forgotten, as she lost herself in his arms.

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Author's Notes – This one is dedicated to campy, who gave me the idea of having Tara handle a "mission". I think it might have helped a bit too, as I managed to get this done in just a few hours. Hope you all enjoy it!


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